Vitamin and mineral supplementation

With a couple possible exceptions, it is unnecessary for most Marshall ProtocolA curative medical treatment for chronic inflammatory disease. Based on the Marshall Pathogenesis. (MP) patients to supplement with vitamins or minerals. A balanced diet of whole foods usually offers a person all the nutrients needed for good health. While nutritional supplements including multivitamins are wildly popular, there is no solid evidence that they contribute to long-term health, reduce symptoms, or cure chronic disease.

Patients who are concerned that their diet is less than ideal should study the Reference Daily Intake (RDI) values of the standard nutrients against their diet to determine if they are deficient. Patients should not consume more nutrients than what is recommended than the RDI. Note that both vitamin D and supplemented (not naturally occurring) folic acid are contraindicated.

Multivitamins and B-complex vitamins can be purchased without vitamin D but they contain folic acid. In order to avoid added vitamin D and folic acid and or potentially immunomodulatory herbs, take each of the vitamins and minerals needed, if any, separately.

• folic acid and folate – folate is a water-soluble B-vitamin that occurs naturally in foods; folic acid is the synthetic form of folate; MP patients must avoid products containing supplemental folic acid as it contributes to bacterial growth
• vitamin B12 – readily available in meat and dairy products so, unless a person is a vegan, he or she is probably not deficient; exceptions include certain malabsorption syndromes and pernicious anemia, conditions where people cannot absorb B-12
• vitamin C – ascorbates promote the transcription of Th1 inflammatory mediators and, therefore, vitamin C (ascorbic acid) may prove to affect the immune system in a way that is counterproductive; as little as 10mg per day of vitamin C is needed to prevent scurvy
• vitamin E – supplementation has fallen out of favor with healthcare professionals
• vitamin K – promoted for osteoporosis prevention but deficiency in adults is rare

Juicing vegetables can increase the concentrations of individual ingredients to a level which your body cannot handle.

Do not consume vitamin D as it is immunosuppressive and will interfere with progress on the MP.

Note that the ban on vitamin D includes synthetically produced vitamin D analogues, which go by any of the following names: calciferol, calcitriol (Calcijex, Rocaltrol), calcifediol (Calderol), calcipotriol, calcipotriene (Dovonex), cholecalciferol aka vitamin D3Form of vitamin D made in the skin when exposed to light. Also available in fish and meat. This secosteroid is sometimes converted into 25-D. Also known as cholecalciferol and activated 7-dehydrocholesterol., ergocalciferol aka vitamin D2Form of vitamin D created by plants and fungi. When ingested the secosteroid is (sometimes) converted into 25-D. Also known as ergocholecalciferol. (Drisdol), Delta-D, Radiostol, Radiostol Forte

• calcium – mineral is important for bone health and may protect somewhat against osteoporosis and osteopenia; available in a variety of foods
• iron – low levels of hemoglobin and hematocrit do not always indicate iron deficiency; if a blood test indicates iron deficiency, it is okay to take enough iron supplement to raise ferritin levels to normal; monitor this carefully to avoid excess iron which would fuel bacterial cell growth
• magnesium – for patients who suffer from constipation, Milk of Magnesia or magnesium oxide tablets will prevent this symptom and provide magnesium supplementation also; Epsom Salt baths may be palliative and can add to magnesium levels (Note: patients with poor kidney function should check with their doctor before supplementing magnesium to avoid hypermagnesemia).
• potassium – do not take potassium supplements without a doctor's approval and periodic testing
• zinc – vegetarians may need supplemental zinc

• Do not take iron supplements, multivitamins, calcium supplements, antacids, or laxatives within 2 hours before or after taking minocyclineBacteriostatic antibiotic used by Marshall Protocol patients.. These products can make minocycline less effective.

Long-term studies on the use of multivitamins show that the pills tend not to protect against disease. For example, one large prospective study of 35,329 cancer-free women found that multivitamin use was associated with a moderate but statistically significant increased risk of breast cancer after an average follow-up of 9.5 years.¹ After adjustment for breast cancer risk factors, women who used multivitamins had a 19% higher risk of breast cancer than those who did not use multivitamins.

The article on Antioxidant supplementation discusses other such research.